Congress has reintroduced the PRESS Act. Now lawmakers must pass it.
AP Photo/Jim Mone
The PRESS Act is the most important press freedom bill in modern history.
The PRESS Act would protect journalists from being forced to reveal their confidential sources in federal court and would stop the federal government from spying on journalists— including through tech companies like Google and Facebook.
Its modern definition of ‘journalist’ would protect reporters big and small from across the political spectrum – whether they work at a mainstream news organization, an alternative outlet, are independent, or freelance. It has broad bipartisan support and has already passed the House unanimously.
Take Action
Help pass the PRESS Act.
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Call or Email Your Senator or Representative
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Call or email your member of Congress and urge them to support the PRESS Act so it can become law. Federal law should protect journalists and sources who expose newsworthy information the public needs to know.
- Visit ACLU's campaign page
- Visit EFF's action center
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Write to Your Local Paper
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Help advance press freedom by writing newspaper op-eds or letters to the editor in support of the PRESS Act.
- Learn More
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Featured Items
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Why press protections need legislative teeth, in DOJ’s own words
We’ve repeatedly argued that legislation is necessary to resolve questions about when the Department of Justice media guidelines apply and to provide accountability in case of violations. So, what kind of accountability is there now?
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Secret Justice Dept. subpoena drives home the need for a strong journalist shield law
With a reporter surveillance scandal of its own embroiling Biden’s Department of Justice, it’s now more important than ever for his administration to throw its weight behind passing a journalist shield law such as Senator Ron Wyden’s PRESS Act.
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Biden’s Justice Dept. promised to support a strong journalist shield law. So why hasn’t it?
Sen. Ron Wyden calls the Justice Department’s inaction on key press freedom issue “extremely frustrating, and frankly unacceptable”
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Investigate Customs and Border Protection for illicit investigations of journalists
New reporting into a government operation codenamed "Operation Whistle Pig" describes a shocking level of invasion into the personal and private lives of journalists. In blockbuster reporting, Yahoo News describes the actions of the Counter Network Division, a secretive unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that works with law enforcement and the intelligence community.
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Congress must pass the Justice Dept’s new media surveillance rules into law
New rules prohibiting the surveillance of journalists are the strongest in the modern history of the Department of Justice — and that’s a big victory for press freedom. But it’s important to note that this new policy could be undone by a future Department of Justice memo.
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Senate blocks crucial internet privacy protections in Patriot Act debate
Despite online privacy concerns at an all-time high, the Senate rejected a critical reform to the Patriot Act yesterday, voting to hand the Trump administration and Attorney General William Barr the ability to spy on Americans’ web browsing habits without a warrant.
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For student journalists, the beats are the same but the protections are different
Student journalists, plagued by questions of editorial independence and with varying degrees of First Amendment protections, nonetheless face the same press freedom challenges as their professional counterparts.The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which documents First Amendment aggressions in the United States, has collected student journalism-based incidents at both the university …
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Tell Rep. Adam Schiff to remove this dangerous secrecy provision from this year’s intelligence bill
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff inserted a provision in the House's intel bill that threatens press freedom.
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A new law is already stifling online expression and hurting sex workers
President Trump signed SESTA/FOSTA into law today. While it has been touted by lawmakers as a tool to crack down on sex trafficking, it will drastically expand online censorship and endanger the people it intends to protect.
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Inside the fight to prevent censorship of Indiana student journalists
After a group of Indiana high school student journalists published an issue of their magazine about dating, their school implemented a policy of content review prior to publication. Some students say that this amounts to censorship that is compromising their journalisitic educaiton.
